Real Madrid hit a billion – but does it really tell us what’s going on?
gameofthepeople.comJan 24, 2025 9:27 PM

THE DELOITTE Football Money League is an eagerly awaited document that arrives in January each year. Increasingly, there’s a lot of discussion about the amount of money being generated by the world’s top clubs and being top of the pile has started to matter for some. This year, Real Madrid maintained their position at number one but the focus has been on the European champions’ becoming the first club to reach € 1 billion in annual revenues. Real’s earnings are € 208 million more than the second-placed club, Manchester City and € 281 million higher than their old rivals, Barcelona. It is clear Real have pulled away from the pack, thanks in no small way to their bold remodelling of the Bernabéu stadium, which now has a capacity of 78,000.

Real Madrid’s revenues in both their matchday and commercial streams are impressive. In 2023-24, matchday activity brought in € 247.8 million, representing almost 24% of income, while commercial earnings totalled € 481.5 million (46%). Real’s money from broadcasting was € 316.3 million, a figure that was bettered by Manchester City’s € 343.1 million. In Deloitte’s top 30, there were just three Spanish clubs and the gap between Real and the rest is substantial. While Barcelona’s revenues were € 760.3 million, the next club in line, Atlético Madrid, had to be satisfied with € 410 million. Real have built their club in a way that leverages their size, their global appeal and their continued success in Europe. It has made them almost uncatchable and has given them extra impetus.

In many of Europe’s top leagues, the story is similar. In Germany, Bayern Munich have, for a long time, exploited commercial opportunities and their income from this stream was € 421.3 million, which amounts to 55% of their overall total of € 765.4 million. Bayern moved up to fifth, despite failing to win the Bundesliga for the first time since 2011-12. They have a € 250 million margin between themselves and the second-highest German club, Borussia Dortmund, who benefitted from reaching the UEFA Champions League final in 2023-24.

In France, Paris Saint-Germain’s competitive advantage is huge and also a little embarrassing. Their revenues totalled € 810 million compared to Olympique Marseille’s € 287 million and Lyon’s € 264 million. PSG, who are third in the top 30, have also developed a certain commercial prowess, opening up stores in overseas cities and selling the message – “Ici c’est Paris!” – that they are the club flying the flag for the French capital.

Italy has a more democratic playing field, with five in Deloitte’s top 30. AC Milan have become the top club with revenues of € 398 million, just € 7 million in front of their co-tenants at the San Siro, Inter Milan. Juventus have fallen from their perch a little and earned € 356 million in 2023-24. Napoli, who announced an impressive € 91 million profit for the season, were about € 100 million behind Juve. Perhaps this has also made Italy’s Serie A more varied in recent years – since 2020, they have had four different champions.

The Premier League, needless to say, has the biggest representation in the Deloitte top 30 – 14 clubs (the six from the current constitution missing from the list are Bournemouth, Brentford, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Southampton and Nottingham Forest). The manner in which the Premier distributes TV money means the gaps between top and bottom are far narrower than in rival leagues. Regardless, Manchester City’s continual pursuit of silverware has built a € 300 million gulf between themselves and 10th position (Chelsea) in the Money League. They also generated around € 70 million more than Manchester United, the traditional cash cow in their home city. United’s only advantage over City is in matchday earnings, which are substantially lower at the Etihad (€ 88 million versus € 152 million).

The only teams from outside the “big five” leagues was Benfica of Portugal and, for the first time since 2013, a Brazilian club. Flamengo, who have been expanding their business and growing their footprint, sneaked into the top 30 with revenues of € 198 million.

The Deloitte Football Money League makes interesting reading and provides a snapshot of the money being generated by the top clubs, but it doesn’t really tell us about profitability or how the clubs spend their money. We all know that football’s popularity and global appeal has drawn cash to the game like a magnet – the top 20 clubs generated € 11.2 billion in 2023-24 – but just how efficient are the clubs in their financial management? With wages constantly rising and transfer fees out of control, football spends far too much of what it earns. In order for the game to be sustainable, the balloon needs to be deflated more than a little, but who will have the courage to address the situation?

The most successful club in the work

What's your business with their income?

Barcelona will think this is Nollywood 😂😂

We are rich ha ha ha ha

Unlike on Catalonian club 😂😂